


Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (Bridge Pose)

by blue_eyed



Series: Summer Pthon 2012 [2]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-07
Updated: 2012-07-07
Packaged: 2017-11-09 09:12:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/453823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blue_eyed/pseuds/blue_eyed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for Summer Pornathon challenge two: End of the World. This has been expanded slightly.</p>
<p>Warnings for slight gore.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (Bridge Pose)

Gwaine jumped as the door opened. He crouched behind some pallets, holding his breath as he listened to the intruder. 

He crept forward and peered around. The guy looked human, not healthy, but alive underneath the grime. The guy looked around, scavenging, and Gwaine knew he’d find Gwaine’s meagre stash of supplies before long. He couldn’t afford to lose them, so he stood up. 

“Hey.” 

The man swirled around, eyes wide with panic. Gwaine held up his hands. 

“Just wanted to let you know that’s my stuff, and you can keep your hands off it.” 

“Oh.” The guy looked at a loss. “Ok. Alright. Can I at least kip here tonight?”

Gwaine approached the man – he was tall, with unkempt wavy blonde hair, and a beard. His dirty clothes hung off him and his skin was pale as a clean sheet. _Definitely alive then_ , he thought.

“Gwaine.” He said, offering a hand.

“Leon.” The man said, looking down at the hand as if he’d not seen one before. He reached out and clasped it hesitantly. Gwaine’s skin tingled at the contact – it had been a long time since he’d seen another human alive, never mind shaken their hand. 

###

 

They pooled resources and divided trips to get water from the stream not too far away. The water was awful – full of run-off from the bank but once it was boiled it was, well, it wasn’t as awful.

The zombie-vampires (Gwaine called them whatevers in his head) didn’t eat food, so there was plenty of canned and dried food to be had, they just needed to get it. The local supermarket had mostly been emptied but the stockroom was still pretty full.

Leon had managed to find some coffee, and Gwaine almost wept. He savoured his cup, breathing in the smell and cupping his hands protectively around it.

“Thanks.” He eventually offered. Leon was just watching him, a small smile on his face.

“Don’t worry about it.” 

###

Leon was quiet, which suited Gwaine just fine. He didn’t ask about before it started, didn’t offer his own story. He just made himself useful and then ran through some stretches every afternoon. 

“Yoga?” Gwaine asked, watching Leon bend forward and touch his toes.

“Yes. It helps.” Leon said, “with the nightmares.” And continued his movements, dropping to all fours, then lying flat on the floor. Gwaine just grunted, and carried on sharpening his knife.

###

“Teach me.” Gwaine said, one morning. His eyes were aching and his throat scratchy from lack of sleep. He was fed up of Leon’s pitying eyes and offers to take more watch whenever he woke up fighting off his blankets, sometimes slicing them with the knife he slept with. Leon’s mouth opened in an ‘o’ of shock, before nodding. 

“First, breathing.”

“I can do that – I’m good at that.” Gwaine tried to lighten the situation. 

“Yeah, but you’re doing it wrong.” Leon pressed his hands against Gwaine’s stomach. “You need to use your stomach – try to spread my hands.” Gwaine tried to focus on that – not the warmth of Leon’s fingers, the feel of his breath on Gwaine’s face. 

###

Gwaine felt a twinge in his calves as he moved into downward facing dog. He jumped as a hand pressed on his back gently. 

“Straighten your back. That’s it.” 

“Ow.” 

“Don’t push yourself.” Leon tutted, holding Gwaine and pushing at Gwaine’s heels with his feet until Gwaine relaxed into it.

“Better.” Gwaine grunted. He moved out of the position, scrunching his eyes shut as the blood rushed to his head. 

“Good. You’re doing good.” Leon said, reaching out clasp Gwaine’s shoulder. 

###

Gwaine supposed it was bound to happen, lying on the makeshift bed with Leon’s blonde hair tickling his chin. 

It had started with an attack. Gwaine had jumped awake when a hand touched his shoulder. Leon was right in front of him, finger to his lips. In the distance, Gwaine heard the shuffle-grunt that mean whatevers were on the prowl. 

They had grabbed their weapons and waited. The shuffling got closer, accompanied by the clatter of things being knocked over. Gwaine stayed still, heart thumping loudly. Months ago, he would’ve thrown himself out there, baying for blood. Now he stood ready, but waiting. 

They had broken the door down. Gwaine swung his knife. Once he made the first blow he’d lost the element of surprise and they were ready for it, attempting to claw and bite at him. He was aware of Leon coming up behind him swinging what turned out to be a claw hammer. 

Between them they had managed to fend them off, shutting the door and dragging whatever they could to make a barricade. Gwaine had been glad once again that the room had windows too small to climb through.

Leon had been splattered in blood, panting like he’d run miles. Gwaine could feel something dripping down the side of his face. There was a moment of tense quiet and then they moved together, grabbing at each other, biting at lips and necks. 

It was violent, overlaid with fear and left over adrenaline. They’d rutted together, Gwaine pressed uncomfortably against a pallet. Gwaine grunted as he came, jerking against Leon. Leon had followed him with a gasp. 

Gwaine’s legs had all but given out at that point and he and Leon crawled to the pile of dirty sheets that made the bed. 

They’d never slept at the same time before and it took a while for Gwaine to unbend and for Leon to curl around him.

“We’ll have to move.” Leon offered. They knew the hiding place now, and it wasn’t safe. 

“Yeah,” Gwaine said, mind focused on the ‘we’. Like it was a given. Gwaine assumed it was, for the moment. “Out of the city, first light tomorrow.”


End file.
